An Awesome Bloody Mary Recipe for Your Spring Brunch

If you’re looking to up your brunch game this year, we thought we’d share our favorite Bloody Mary recipe to help you out. Sure, you could just throw some vodka and a splash of Mrs. T’s Bloody Mary mix in a glass and call it good, but that would do an injustice to this iconic breakfast drink.

Don’t worry though, we didn’t get too crazy with the fixings. You don’t need a whole fried chicken or squid ink and a grilled octopus leg to make the perfect Bloody Mary; those are just restaurant gimmicks designed to remove every last dollar from your wallet for a drink that, at its roots, is simple and inexpensive. Our favorite recipe below focuses only on the Bloody Mary basics, which is good enough for most occasions, but we’ll also share some of our tried and true ways to modify it when you’re feeling a little adventurous.

Classic Bloody Mary Recipe

Recipe Inspired by https://kitchenswagger.com/bloody-mary-recipe/

Before you can elevate your Bloody Mary to chef-worthy status, you first need to know the basics. This is a simple, classic Bloody Mary recipe that has all of the flavors you would expect, with no twists.

1-1/2 oz. – vodka

1 – lemon wedge juiced

1 – lime wedge juiced

4 oz. – tomato juice

2-4 dashes – Tabasco or other hot sauce

1 tsp – horseradish

1 tsp – Worcestershire sauce

1 pinch – celery salt

Black pepper to taste

Garnish

1 stalk – celery

2 – green olives

1 – lime wedge

1 – lemon wedge

2-3 sweet pickles (optional)

1. Pour all ingredients (except garnishes) into a cocktail shaker and shake to combine.
2. Pour into a pint glass filled with ice.
3. Add garnishes and serve.

Our Favorite Ways to Dress Up a Basic Bloody Mary

1. Dust the rim of the glass with Old Bay Seasoning and add a couple of large cocktail shrimp to the garnish.
2. Make a Spicy Mexican Bloody Mary
   1. Replace the vodka with tequila
   1. Replace the lemon juice with lime juice
   1. Remove the Horseradish
   1. Take out the Tabasco sauce and add a tsp of the sauce from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (use the chiles in your favorite salsa or huevos rancheros recipe)
3. Make a Brewed Mary
   1. Cut the tomato juice to 2 oz.
   1. Replace the vodka with 12 oz of light beer
   1. Serve over ice in a beer mug garnished with your favorite pickled vegetables.
4. Make it a Bloody Caesar
   1. Replace the tomato juice with an equal amount of Clamato, a mixture of tomato juice and clam juice (sounds gross, but it works!).
   1. Dust the rim with Old Bay Seasoning and garnish with bacon, shrimp cocktail, or a crab claw.

The Bloody Mary became a brunch staple because of its simplicity, freshness, and tangy flavors, but it’s also highly customizable. We’ve shared a few of our favorite ways to modify it, but we’re always interested in hearing from our readers. If you have a favorite Bloody Mary recipe, feel free to share it in the comments below.